I’m a big fan of a super simple midweek meal. As much as I love to cook, trying to get a meal prepped, cooked and on the table with a demanding four-year-old in tow is a challenge at times.
I’ve now bought him his own set of kids’ kitchen knives so he can get more involved: he loves to help me cook, and he feels very grown up being allowed to use “sharp knives” by himself!
I’m starting him off with softer fruits and vegetables so he can get the hang of those before moving on to anything trickier. So with that in mind, I thought something mushroom-based would be a good choice.
This creamy pesto mushroom tart recipe uses very few ingredients and is nice and simple, which makes it perfect for an easy midweek meal. It’s delicious eaten either straight from the oven or chilled – if you don’t fancy making a large mushroom tart, why not make individual ones for picnics or packed lunches?
Creamy Pesto Mushroom Tart
Ingredients
- 500 g mushrooms diced
- 1 small onion peeled and finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic peeled and crushed
- 125 g mascarpone
- 50 g Parmesan or Grana Padano finely grated
- 1 sheet ready-rolled puff pastry
- 2 tbsp pesto
- oil for frying
- milk or beaten egg to brush the pastry
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 200C/180C fan/gas mark 6. Take your pastry out of the fridge to bring it up to room temperature. Heat your oil in a large frying pan or sauté pan over a medium heat. Once hot, add the mushrooms and onion and cook until the liquid from the mushrooms has evaporated, stirring regularly. Add the garlic, and cook for a further few minutes.
- Turn the heat down to low and stir through the mascarpone, pesto and 20g of the Parmesan/Grana Padano. Continue to heat until warmed through and well combined.
- Unroll your pastry sheet (still on its paper) and place on a baking tray. Lightly score around the edges, being sure not to cut right through the pastry, around 1-1.5cm from the edge, depending on how thick you like the outer crust. Alternatively, cut your pastry sheet into six equal sized pieces, scoring each one as above, but reduce the gap between your scored line and the pastry edge.
- Spoon your mushroom mixture onto the pastry sheet, making sure it covers the entire sheet up to the lines you've just scored. Sprinkle with half of the remaining grated cheese, brush the exposed pastry with either milk or beaten egg, and cook for 25-30 minutes, until the edges of the pastry are golden and puffed up.
- Remove from the oven and sprinkle with the remaining grated cheese before serving with a side salad.
